KHOA HỌC, GIÁO DỤC VÀ CÔNG NGHỆ
74 April, 2025
MOTIVATIONAL FACTORS INFLUENCING KHMER
VIETNAMESE EFL TEACHERS’ CAREER CHOICE
Vo Van Sia
Ngo Huynh Hong Ngab
Drawing on Self-Determination theory, the current study examined how intrinsic, altruistic and
extrinsic factors affected their career choice within the sociocultural context of the Khmer ethnic
community. Extrinsic motivations such as job stability and social respect were found to be secondary
motivational factors. These findings provide an insightful understanding of what motivated teachers in
ethnically diverse contexts to choose teaching career and highlight the importance of integrating cultural
and social considerations into teacher recruitment and retention strategies.
Keywords: English teaching career choice; Motivation; Mekong Delta; Khmer ethnic minority group;
Vietnam.
aCan Tho University; Tay Do University; Email: vvsi@tdu.edu.vn
bCan Tho University; Email: nhhnga@ctu.edu.vn
Received: 10/01/2025; Reviewed: 21/01/2025; Revised: 10/02/2025; Accepted: 25/3/2025; Released: 28/4/2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.54163/ncdt/432
1. Introduction
After 10 years of implementing Resolution
No. 29-NQ/TW, dated November 4th, 2013, of
the 11th Central Executive Committee of the
Communist Party of Vietnam, on “Fundamental and
comprehensive reform of education and training
to meet the requirements of industrialization and
modernization within the context of a socialist-
oriented market economy and international
integration”, Vietnam’s education sector has
achieved significant success. Key achievements
include the nationwide completion of preschool
education for 5-year-olds, improvements in primary
and secondary education quality, and a positive
change in general education from knowledge
acquisition to developing learners’ qualities and
competencies. In spite of remarkable achievements
since the implementation of Resolution No.29-NQ/
TW, the foreign language proficiency, including
English, of labor force remains low which
hinders the process of international integration.
Additionally, the structure and quantity of teaching
staff in many localities are not equally distributed
and their quality is fluctuated. The Vietnamese
Politburo emphasizes promoting English as a
second language across educational levels and
improving English skills for a globally adaptive
workforce (The Politburo, 2024).
Vietnam is a multiethnic nation with 54
recognized groups. The Khmer ethnic group
comprise 4.45% of the population in the Mekong
Delta (General Statistical Office, 2019). For
Khmer English teachers in the Mekong Delta,
their challenges are considerable compared with
the Kinh majority teachers. The challenges can be
from socio-economic, and educational contexts,
which significantly impact their professional
development. One of the primary challenges is the
low professional qualifications among the Khmer
ethnic people. Research indicates that many Khmer
teachers suffer from inadequate training and limited
access to professional development opportunities,
which hinders their ability to deliver effective
English language instruction (Le et al., 2021). The
lack of support for teacher training may be part of
this challenge, as many teachers are not equipped
with the necessary pedagogical skills to meet the
demands of modern English language education
(Do et al., 2022).
Moreover, the socio-economic challenges faced
by the Khmer ethnic group have negative effect on
their teaching career. Many Khmer teachers come
from economically disadvantaged areas, which
can affect their motivation and ability to pursue
further education and professional development.
Data collected in a research by Nguyen et al. (2020)
shows that the poverty and near-poverty rates for
the Khmer ethnic community in 2018 were 19%
and 14.7% respectively. This indicates that there are
still high rates of poverty and near-poverty among
the Khmer households.
Most Khmer people are born as followers of
Theravada Buddhism, which has dramatic influences
on their way of living and behavior. Compassion
is easily seen in their characteristics which can be
referred to their honesty and peaceful living. They
believe that by living kindly and contributing good
things to community, they can create happiness and
peace to the world (Hai, Thanh & Chau, 2021).
With this belief, the Khmer people support others
in help their community. The Khmer people also
believe in the law of cause and effect. Therefore,
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they make efforts to live a good life at the present
time with the hope to have a better next life. It can
be seen easily through the way they are engaged
with religious and community activities such as
donating to build pagodas or helping the poor by
which they can reach Nirvana in their next life (Van
& Long, 2019). Being kind to others is a big part of
their culture. Khmer families often give items like
rice, cloth, and sticky rice to pagodas. Wealthier
Khmer also support to the poor in their villages
and neighboring areas. Festivals are a time for
bringing people closer together, and strengthening
love within the community (Shi, 2016). It can be
explained that the way the Khmer people behave
in the community is originated from the typical
feature of altruism which is from their Theravada
Buddhist beliefs.
Despite significant educational progress
under Resolution No.29-NQ/TW, Vietnam still
faces challenges in foreign language proficiency
and teacher quality. The Politburo emphasizes
promoting English for global integration. Khmer
English teachers in the Mekong Delta encounter
additional obstacles due to socio-economic
disadvantages, limited professional development,
and cultural influences. However, their strong
beliefs to Theravada Buddhist principles, which
emphasize altruism and community service, may
serve as a driving force for them to enter the teaching
profession. Corresponding to these factors, this study
aims to investigate what motivated the Vietnamese
Khmer EFL teachers in the Mekong Delta to come
into teaching profession with the focus on how the
Khmer sociocultural context affected their intrinsic,
altruistic and extrinsic motivations.
The research is conducted to answer the two
research questions.
(1) What are intrinsic, altruistic and extrinsic
motivations for their English teaching career choice?
(2) How does the sociocultural context shape
their motivations?
2. Research overview
Teacher motivation is understood to be the
combination of intrinsic and extrinsic reasons
that drive individuals to enter and efforts to stay
in their teaching careers. According to Williams
& Burden (1997), motivation in teaching includes
both initial motivation, which reflects the reasons
behind the decision to become a teacher, and
sustaining motivation, which involves the ongoing
effort required to continue teaching. Sinclair
(2008, p.37) adds “attraction” to teaching into
motivation as he defined teacher motivation is
“what attracts individuals to teaching, how long
they remain in their initial teacher education
courses and subsequently the teaching profession,
and the extent to which they engage with their
courses and the teaching profession”. Dörnyei &
Ushioda (2001, 2011) extend this by pointing out
that teacher motivation encompasses the direction,
or why people choose to become a teacher, and
the magnitude of human behavior, or how much
effort is put forth to continue in the profession. In
the present study, the term “teacher motivation”
has been adapted from Han & Yin (2016, p.3), it
“refers to reasons that emanating from individuals’
intrinsic values to choose to teach and sustaining
teaching, and the intensity of teacher motivation
which is indicated by effort expended on teaching
as influenced by a number of contextual factors”.
When referring to teacher motivation, three
common categories of motivation are well-
mentioned namely intrinsic, altruistic and extrinsic
motivation. Findings across the previous empirical
studies consistently highlighted intrinsic and
altruistic motivations, such as a passion for teaching,
the desire to make a difference in students’ lives, and
the opportunity to contribute to society. Extrinsic
motivations, including job security, working
conditions, and career prospects, were more
significant in certain non-Western contexts Fray &
Gore (2018). Statistically, the study by Perryman
& Calvert (2019) to explore the motivations that
lead graduates of UCL’s Institute of Education’s
Initial Teacher Education program to enter the
teaching profession identified that their motivations
for entering the profession were in various forms
(i.e. intrinsic, altruistic, and extrinsic) including a
desire to work with young people (64%), make a
difference (69%), love of subject (50%), inspired
by own teachers (38%), to have an intellectual
challenge (36%), to be creative (35%).
Intrinsic motivations such as passion for
teaching, interest in subject taught, and enjoyment
of working with children, consistently emerge as
primary motivations of career choice. Many studies
employing different theoretical frameworks like
the Factors Influencing Teaching Choice model
developed by Watt & Richardson (2007), emphasize
the correlation between teaching and individuals’
interests and personal satisfaction. Findings of
Glutsch & König (2019) indicated that subject
interest was perceived to be a highly significant
motivational factor by pre-service teachers at a
German university who were pursuing qualifications
for teaching in lower and upper secondary schools,
positively correlating with social motivations, and
perceived teaching abilities. Saito (2024) echoed
the findings of Glutsch & König (2019) when he
investigated the motivations and career aspirations
of teacher education students in Japan. Grounded
from the FIT - Choice framework, data were
collected from 202 undergraduate students enrolled
in concurrent degree and teacher-training programs
at a four-year university. The findings showed that
Japanese teacher education students were highly
driven to become teachers due to their desire for
teaching and their intrinsic values were enhanced
during their educational experiences. Bergmark
et al. (2018) found a link between prior positive
learning experience to passion for becoming
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teaching. Their study analyzed 259 student texts
from three Swedish teacher education programs
(primary, middle, and upper secondary levels)
between 2013 and 2015 showed that the participants
believed that their love for teaching had developed
through former positive learning experiences and
considered former teachers as role models.
Like intrinsic motivations, altruistic motivations
such as the desire to contribute to society, enhance
social equity, and make young generation better, were
also frequently cited in previous empirical research
across different cultural contexts (Mukminin et al.,
2017; Nesje, Brandmo & Berger, 2017; Tang et al.
2018; Perryman & Calvert, 2019). Mukminin et
al. (2017) investigated the motives of EFL student
teachers in Indonesia for pursuing teaching as a
career by enrolling in a teacher education program.
Data were collected from 285 EFL student teachers
through questionnaires and from 22 participants via
semi-structured interviews at a public university in
Jambi, Sumatra. Findings revealed that altruistic
motivations such as perceiving teaching as a socially
worthwhile job and shaping the future of children,
were predominant, followed by intrinsic factors.
Similarly, a study conducted in another Asian
country confirmed the findings of Mukminin et al.
(2017). Htang (2019) investigated the motivations of
teacher trainees in Myanmar for choosing teaching
as a career, analyzing factors such as gender, prior
intentions, satisfaction with career choice, and socio-
economic background. The findings indicated that
altruistic motivations such as a desire to contribute
to society and improve education for underserved
communities were the most significant motivators
of career choice. Pre-service teachers’ altruistic
motivation for choosing teaching as a career can
be affected by social-cognitive, emotional, and
realistic factors. In fact, the study by Li & Guo
(2024) revealed that social-cognitive factors such as
engagement with social issues had positive impact
on altruistic motivation. Emotional influences play
a crucial role in shaping teachers’ commitment.
Additionally, realistic factors, such as family
expectations and career preferences, significantly
influence teachers’ career decisions.
Extrinsic motivations, including job security,
salary and more time for family, are important
but typically secondary to intrinsic and altruistic
motivations. In fact, the level of these motivations
varies by region and context. In Western countries,
intrinsic and altruistic motivations dominate, driven
by a strong force of personal fulfillment and social
contribution (Fray & Gore, 2018). Cornali (2018)
investigated the motives behind the choice of the
teaching profession among Italian pre-primary and
primary teacher candidates. The study surveyed
383 third-year students enrolled in the Primary
Education Sciences program at the University
of Turin. The qualitative interviews emphasized
intrinsic motivations, such as a passion for working
with children and the personal satisfaction derived
from teaching. Altruistic motives, like contributing
to societal well-being, were mentioned less
frequently, and extrinsic factors were largely absent
from the interview narratives. In contrast, in low
and middle income countries, extrinsic motivations
often emerge as a more significant role, though
intrinsic and altruistic factors are still influential
(Htang, 2019).
Contextual and cross cultural perspectives were
revealed to have notable differences in teaching
motivations. Tang et al. (2018) compared the
motivational factors of pre-service student teachers
in Hong Kong and Macau. Their findings reported
that the participants in the two research sites
had different views on extrinsic motivations. In
Macau, participants perceived teaching as a stable
and respectful profession while those in in Hong
Kong perceived as less attractive because of high
workloads and limited professional opportunities.
Watt, Richardson & Smith (2017) found that
contextual factors like societal respect for teaching,
economic stability, and cultural collectivism also
influence motivations. In countries like Turkey
and Indonesia, personal utility values (i.e. job
security) are more pronounced due to economic
conditions, while in regions with highly selective
teacher education systems, motivations are more
intrinsic and ability-focused. Fray & Gore (2018)
stated that altruistic motivation together with
intrinsic motivation were much more significant
in comparison to extrinsic motivation in certain
Western contexts. In fact, a study was conducted
by Nesje, Brandmo & Berger (2017) to investigate
to what motivated preservice teachers at a single
Norwegian university to choose to become teachers.
The findings confirmed that intrinsic and altruistic
motivations were predominant among Norwegian
preservice teachers. Key motivational factors
included perceived teaching abilities, intrinsic
interest in teaching, and a desire to shape the future
of children and adolescents. In the context of
England, the findings by Perryman & Calvert (2019)
showed that motivations such as a desire to “make
a difference” and a passion for working with young
people, were key reasons for becoming teachers
when conducting survey of 1,200 UCL Institute of
Education graduates in London (2011-2015).
Previous researchs found that there is intersection
of intrinsic, altruistic and extrinsic motivations.
Genders are found to be a strong mediator affecting
the intersection. Štemberger (2020) conducted
a study to determine whether career stages and
motivations differ based on gender. Data were
collected from 94 secondary school teachers across
seven Slovenian regions, all of whom worked in
public secondary schools. Findings revealed that
female teachers were more intrinsically motivated
to choose the teaching profession, emphasizing
personal interests, personality traits, and a love of
working with children. In contrast, male teachers
exhibited higher levels of environmental motivation,
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influenced by family background and societal
expectations. The study of Štemberger (2020)
confirmed the findings of Mukminin et al. (2017)
that there were contrasting types of motivation
between female and male participants. In their study,
Mukminin et al. (2017) found that EFL female
student teachers in Indonesia were more likely to
cite family-oriented extrinsic motives, while male
participants emphasized professional aspirations.
Despite extensive research on motivational
factors in teaching career choice, most studies focus
on individual influences and employ quantitative
methods, often ignoring cultural and contextual
aspects that is argued to have much impact teacher
motivation. Consequently, more qualitative research
that considers social, cultural, and religious contexts
are expected to emerge (Heinz, 2015; Han & Yin,
2016). This research aimed to explore how the
unique sociocultural characteristics of the Khmer
EFL teachers in the Mekong Delta shaped their
motivations to choose teaching profession.
Majority of previous empirical studies of
motivations of teaching career choice, the
FIT-Choice model, developed by Watt &
Richardson (2007), was the most frequently used
methodological approach (Fray & Gore, 2018).
Although the FIT - Choice model is effective in
identifying key factors that influence individuals’
decisions to pursue teaching, it has been criticized
for its limitations in capturing new or emerging
factors that may also shape teaching motivation
(Fray & Gore, 2018). This research employed
Self-Determination Theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000)
as the theoretical framework. The theory proposes
the satisfaction of three basic psychological needs
(i.e. autonomy referring to the feeling of being in
control of one’s actions, competence involving the
sense of mastery and effectiveness in activities,
and relatedness encompassing the desire to
connect with others) “as conditions for human
flourishing” (Richarson & Watt, 2018, p.43).
In fact, individualistic cultures may emphasize
autonomy, while collectivist cultures may place
greater importance on relatedness (Chirkov et al.,
2003). In the context of Khmer EFL teachers, the
cultural context of the Khmer community, which
values communal relationships and social harmony
is argued that relatedness is a critical factor for
their teaching career choice. Additionally, it is
argued that the cultural characteristics of the Khmer
participants (e.g. collectivism) may influence their
motivations. The interplay between individual
aspirations and communal expectations can shape
their career choices, suggesting that motivations are
not solely personal but also socially constructed.
3. Research method
3.1. Research design
This research utilized a qualitative approach
to investigate the intrinsic, altruistic, and extrinsic
factors influencing Vietnamese Khmer teachers
in the Mekong Delta to pursue careers in English
teaching. Qualitative research enables the researcher
to explore and comprehend the significance
individuals or groups attribute to social and human
issues (Creswell & Poth, 2018). Instead of collecting
numerical values in a quantitative study, qualitative
research is defined as “a type of research that
explores and provides deeper insights into real-world
problems” (Tenny et al., 2023, p. 1). For this research,
semi-structured interviews were chosen as the data
collection instrument because they allowed for in-
depth exploration of participants’ intrinsic, altruistic,
and extrinsic motivations and this method enabled
the researcher to probe participants’ responses. Then
the data were analyzed by thematic analysis guided
by Creswell & Guetterman (2019).
3.2. Research participants
Four Khmer EFL teachers were invited to
take part in semi-structured interviews. Snowball
sampling technique was used in this research. This
technique is considered a type of convenience
sampling which aims at identifying participants
who possess specific characteristics meeting the
sampling criteria (Creswell & Creswell, 2018).
For this research, a few initial participants were
selected through convenience sampling and then
they referred the researcher to other potential
participants that met the same criteria. The process
of snowball sampling helped the researcher to
save time as the target population (Khmer EFL
teachers) was relatively small. Another rationale
for using the snowball sampling technique was that
it enhanced the likelihood of establishing rapport,
as following participants were likely to have some
prior connection or relationship with the initial
sample, creating a sense of trust and familiarity
between the researcher and participants (Creswell
& Creswell, 2018).
In fact, for the first two participants were
introduced by the researcher’s friends who were
currently teaching at a primary school in Tra
Vinh Province and Vinh Long Province. The third
participant was introduced by a friend who was taking
the same cohort of PhD course with the researcher.
The researcher got to know the fourth participant
via the introduction of the second participant. As
shown in Table 1, there were two female and two
male participants in the study who varied in stages
of teaching and teaching contexts. All names are
pseudonyms. One of them was a novice teacher at a
high school and the others were mid-career teachers
at primary schools. All of the participants received
bachelor degrees in English Education.
3.3. Data collection
The interviews followed a semi-structured
format and conducted via Zoom platform, typically
lasting around 30 minutes. With the participants’
consent, the interviews were recorded. The
interviews were conducted in Vietnamese language
because using their native language instead of
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English language was believed to help them express
their thoughts more clearly and thoughtfully. The
conversations began by exploring the participants’
educational and professional backgrounds before
moving to a discussion about their motivations for
pursuing a career in teaching.
3.4. Data analysis
Creswell & Guetterman (2019) suggest that
the data in qualitative research is analyzed using
a “bottom-up approach” (p.237). This type of
data analysis initiates with data collection and
ends with themes. Thematic analysis is the
process of identifying themes or patterns within
qualitative research (Braun & Clarke, 2012). An
advantage to using thematic analysis is that it
allows the researcher to examine the perspectives
of participants and explore unanticipated insights
(Nowell et al., 2017). The participants in the current
research were identified by a numerical code,
and their names were changed in the findings to
maintain their anonymity. The final report was then
generated based on a thematic analysis of the data.
The data was analyzed based on the guidelines
suggested by Strauss & Corbin (1998). There were
three stages in the process of data analysis of the
interview with the Khmer EFL teachers including
open coding, axial coding and selective coding
(Strauss & Corbin, 1998). In the open coding, it
involved breaking down the data from interviews
by analyzing the data line-by-line, identifying
concepts, themes and patterns related to intrinsic,
altruistic and extrinsic motivations for their teaching
career choice. For example, the patterns “I could do
like her in the future”, “My English teacher made
the lesson understandable”, “I recognized that the
Khmer pupils in my community were kind of shy”
were recognized in the transcript analysis. In the
second stage, the emerging themes were analyzed
their connections to develop broader categories or
themes. The pattern like “I could do like her in the
future” was categorized into personal autonomy/
interest, and “I recognized that the Khmer pupils
in my community were kind of shy” was categorized
into desire to community contribution. In the final
stage, data analysis were refined and the most
significant and central themes were selected
(Strauss & Corbin, 1998). In the current research,
the patterns “I could do like her in the future”, “My
English teacher made the lesson understandable”,
were categorized into personal autonomy/interest
and to bigger theme of intrinsic motivation.
4. Research result
4.1. Intrinsic motivations
The data from the semi-structured interviews
with participants showed that all of the Khmer
teachers in the current research came to the
profession of English with initial interest in the
subject though there were some slight differences
in the way of their expressions. The participants
started to learn English from the secondary school
level and found the subject really special from other
subjects especially the way their teachers delivered
the lessons. All of them admitted that their English
teachers contributed greatly to their passion for
English. For instance, participant Xuan shared that
she was impressed with the way of her teacher as
she stated “My English teacher made the lesson
understandable for all pupils with exciting activities
instead of much focusing on grammatical points
and I believe that I could do like her in the future”
while participant Ha admired the English teacher
because she found that her teacher could speak
three languages including Khmer, Vietnamese and
English. For the two female participants, their
interest in English arose when they joined ethnic
minority boarding school where they considered
their English teachers as model whom they
believed to become like in the future. These two
male teachers could not explain why they had such
impression onto their English teachers.
Another intrinsic motivational factor that
contributed to the choice of career of the Khmer
participants was their belief into their English
language competence. The two male teacher (Thu &
Dong) shared that they saw the similarities between
English language and their native language which
boosted their motivation for choosing teaching
English as a career. In fact, participant Thu stated
“Many of English words share the similar way of
pronunciation with Khmer language. For example,
the English word “She” is pronounced like the
Khmer word “si” which means eating”. Slightly
different from the two males, the participant Xuan
shared that “In secondary school, I had a dream to
become an English teacher as I believed that I had
and aptitude for that job” and participant Ha did
not confirm that she was good at the language but “I
was good enough to pursue my dream job”.
4.2. Altruistic motivations
Table 1. Demographic information of participants
Participants Age Sex Level of
education Years of
teaching Place of teaching
Xuan 27 Female Bachelor 3High school, Tra Vinh province
Ha 35 Female Bachelor 11 Primary school, Vinh Long province
Thu 41 Male Bachelor 13 Primary school, Tra Vinh province
Dong 39 Male Bachelor 15 Primary school, Tra Vinh province